The Kewanee Boilermakers rode the marksmanship of Dayton Ince to their signature win of the young season — 60-49 over Geneseo at Brockman Gym.

The Wethersfield Flying Geese are still undefeated, but had to show some moxie to make sure that goose egg remained in the loss column.

Ince bombs away for Boilers

The Boilers improved to 5-2 with Tuesday night’s win over previously unbeaten Geneseo.

“That was a big win for us,” said Kewanee coach Steve Salisbury. “Our defensive effort was really good all night.”

Ince was the offensive show for the Boilers, drilling 8 of 17 3-pointers and hitting all eight of his free-throw attempts for a season-high 32 points.

“Every time he gets it, I think he’s going to make it,” said Salisbury. “He knows he has the green light. He’s our leader and he’s been playing really well.”

The Boilers trailed 22-21 at the half, but Ince knocked down three treys in the third quarter to put the Boilers on top 40-35.

After hitting just of 2 of 10 free throws in the first half, the Boilers hit 12 of 13 from the line in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Leafs.

“I think I saw it in practice tonight (Wednesday). They had a real bounce in their step” said Salisbury of the impact of the win over the Leafs.

Next up for the Boilers is Friday’s home Three Rivers Conference test against Sterling Newman. The Comets enter at 6-1 and 2-0 in the Three Rivers Conference. The Boilers also are 2-0 in the TRAC-9.

“We knew this was going to be a huge week for us,” said Salisbury. “Tuesday’s win leads us into Friday night and we hope it can carry over.”

Geese lose big lead, rally to beat Red Devils

Wethersfield proved it could handle adversity in winning its season-opening Wally Keller Invitational. The Geese battled back from a double-digit deficit to beat Putnam County and outdueled Bureau Valley in the fourth quarter en route to a perfect 5-0 tourney run.

In their first outing since the Keller, the Geese demonstrated again they can deliver with the game on the line.

Wethersfield built an 18-point lead in the second quarter, and appeared in control 34-19 at the half.

“I thought we played well until halftime,” said Wethersfield coach Jeff Parsons. “Then they (Hall) started hitting some shots and caught us by surprise.”

The Red Devils hit four 3-pointers in the third quarter and trimmed the deficit to 50-41, then continued the roll in the fourth quarter with a 19-4 spurt to grab the lead 60-54.

Page 2 of 2 - Cody Phillips hit a big three with two minutes remaining to pull the Geese within a point, then Trevor Lay drilled his fourth three of the night to put the Geese on top for good 68-67 with 25 seconds to play.

“We showed a lot of resolve,” said Parsons. “Trevor had enough guts to take a big three.”

After a pair of Tyler Litton free throws made it 70-67 with eight seconds to play, the Geese finished off the Red Devils as Trey Hannam rejected a game-tying 3-point attempt by Brett Fanning.

“These guys just don’t quit,” said Parsons. “It’s good for them to see some adversity early in the year.”

Lay continued to shine for the Geese, tallying 27 points and dishing six assists.

“He likes to have the ball in his hands to create opportunities for his teammates and himself,” said Parsons of the junior guard.

The 6-0 Geese enjoy the friendly confines of WHS gym again Friday night as they play host to Williamsfield.

Rebels top Golden Eagles; Ingels lifts Cats

The Lincoln Trail Conference boys basketball schedule usually doesn’t tip until January, but Stark County got a leg up on the competition Tuesday night with a 47-40 win over Mercer County in Toulon.

In a meeting of two teams still finding their basketball legs after long football seasons, the Rebels outscored the Golden Eagles 14-8 in the fourth quarter to earn the LTC win.

Tanner King led three Rebels in double figures with 17 points, followed by Ryne Daum with 11 and Kyle Wagenbach with 10.

The Rebels (2-1) are off until next week’s Colmone Classic in Spring Valley.

Junior guard Dexter Ingels continued his scoring tear, pouring in 27 points including hitting 11 of 12 free throws. David Jeffries added three 3-pointers and 15 points for the Wildcats and Reece Hoxworth chipped in with 12.

The Wildcats are off until Tuesday’s home date with Bushnell-Prairie City/Avon.